Of Cabbages and Kings
by summersoprano
Summary: Plagued by visions of destructive flame alchemists, Roy Mustang attempts to find and erase any leaked research on the matter, but is unknowingly followed by his friends. His investigation leads them to a strange circle and a strange, war-torn world in dire need of their help.


**Of Cabbages and Kings**

**A.N. **So there are some pretty good FMA/ALAB crossovers here, but I noticed that all of them had only a few characters crossing over, which is fine. That actually makes a lot of sense. But me, I wanted to give in to my fangirl fantasies and just have a full-on main cast collision. So that is how this came about.  
This is my very first fic that I've been serious about enough to publish. I will do what I can to make readers happy!  
Also, I apologize that it doesn't start off with the crossover immediately, there was quite a bit to establish in Amestris first. I promise, in the next chapter the crossover will be in full swing!

**Setting: **FMA: About 5 years after the Promised Day or three years after the very end of Brotherhood.  
ALAB: Book Three.  
(Naturally, there are spoilers.)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything Fullmetal Alchemist or Avatar.

* * *

**Chapter 1: Visions of Fire**

_Fire. Everything was on fire. It lunged from rooftops, it licked up walls and it swept through streets, setting ablaze everything that stood in its ruthless path. Fire in its very nature was destruction, but this was no ordinary fire. He had seen this kind of fire before: unnatural; unstoppable. A fresh battalion of flames was deployed, reigniting the burning blaze, its source the only thing more frightening than the scorching itself. The flames were spawned not from weapons or artillery, but from _men_._

_From the hands of men, an inferno was created that would slowly and thoroughly reduce the city to ash._

_A piercing, beastly shriek sounded from above and out of the starless sky, a vermilion dragon emerged, snaking through the air and landing amongst the flames. There was a wizened, bearded man cloaked in red mounted on its back, his peaceful demeanor set enormously apart from the scene in which he had appeared. He spoke calmly "A hundred torches burning in the safety of day can not hope to shine as brightly as a single candle in the mystery of night. For the torches can do only that; burn_. _But the candle… the candle can lead, the candle can save. The candle can change the night." The dragon took to the sky once again, vanishing into the blackness, leaving behind a hopeless city, destructive men and unquenchable flames._

Roy awoke, sweat running down his forehead. He exhaled loudly. _Not this again. _He thought to himself. He had had this nightmare God knows how many times in the past few weeks. He sat up and rubbed the bridge of his nose, hoping he could convince his tired mind not to delve into the deeper meaning of the dream this time. He tried thinking of anything else; resolving tensions with Drachma, reinstatement of a democracy, the old man on the dragon. _Oh, hell. Here we go_. Maybe he was crazy, but there was definitely something of great significance within this dream. At first he thought it nothing more than a strange, stress-induced nightmare, but the recurrence and resonance was unnerving at the very least and frightening at most. Roy wasn't one to believe in visions. He knew it couldn't be, but something inside him insisted... He grunted in frustration as he fell back on his bed. _What the hell does it mean! _This vision of what, flame alchemists? He knew that couldn't be possible. He was the only flame alchemist alive and the only remaining research on the subject had been personally burnt into illegibility by he himself. The existence of another flame alchemist was impossible.

_But what if it's not? _Roy's stomach clenched at the idea. After the devastation his flame alchemy alone had caused in Ishval, he knew that it was nothing to be reckoned with. It had to be kept in trustworthy hands, and with the sins he had committed... If he couldn't trust his _own_ hands, he could _never_ trust the hands of any other man. He grunted. Then he thought of the one person who he trusted far more than himself. A somewhat calming sensation swept over Roy's tense body as he resolved to confide every detail about the dream and its implications with Riza. She was the only other living person who had close relations with the dangerous art, and she would know the severity of the situation or lack thereof. He rolled over, leaving off on that thought, and set off on the impossible mission of falling back asleep.

* * *

Roy was uncharacteristically early to the office that morning. It had happened a few times ever since Fuhrer Grumman had announced that he would be retiring and in need of a successor, but it was especially common after the nightmare began to plague Roy's nights. Riza had noticed the unusual habit beginning to develop, and began to arrive early most mornings as well. She never asked about it—rarely commented on it—just arrived dutifully, although Mustang knew it was to keep a watch on him and see if his unusual behavior should be raising any concern, which he was sure that it was. That morning, Roy was going to tell her about the dream before she had a chance to force it out of him. He sat at his desk, attempting to knock out some paperwork before she got in, but his worry reduced his focus to nothing. He mostly fumbled through papers and drummed the end of a pen against the desktop anxiously, which was usually his version of 'doing paperwork' anyway. This went on until the door opened and Riza Hawkeye walked in. He greeted her with a simple "Lieutenant" but was given zero chance of saying anything else before she started.

"Listen General. Something is obviously bothering you, and I'm sorry, sir, but I'm going to have to insist you tell me what it is." She stared at him sternly and intently. If he hadn't known any better, he would have sworn he was in trouble, but he _did_ know better and—both to his advantage and disadvantage—she also knew better than to let him go unchecked.

He sighed and allowed a slight smile to surface. "I knew you'd beat me to it."

"I'm sorry, sir?" She asked. He got up from his chair and made his way to the front of his desk.

"I guess I have no choice but to tell you now."

She knew it couldn't have been the upcoming selection of fuhrer. Mustang was the clear choice over General Armstrong. Not only was the current fuhrer her own grandfather, providing a solid connection for Roy, but the majority of Parliament was frightened by Armstrong. They definitely preferred Roy's amiability, and his work in restoring relations with Ishval spoke for itself. He was a brilliant leader.

"Well what is it, sir?" She inquired.

He described the events of the nightmare as precisely as he could, an eerie feeling creeping over him at the recollection, its implications lurking like shadows around his nerves. When he had finished explaining himself, he felt a sort of relief, quickly replaced by anxiousness. _What will she think?_

"So it's just a dream?" She asked, her voice free of patronization and full of genuine curiosity.

"It would seem that way but…" He looked out the window behind him into the

sunbathed morning. "I can't help feeling that… it's something _more._"

"Sir—"

He cast his gaze downward shamefully, knowing any sane person would be doubtful. "I know it must sound ridiculous of me. If you think I'm being crazy, then we'll forget this whole thing." He fixed his gaze on her. "But my gut tells me there is a dire meaning in this dream, and if I'm going to be fuhrer, then it's vital I see just how trustworthy my gut can be."

His eyes were as earnest as his words, Riza could see that much. She trusted the General more than anyone in the world, but this information…

Her expression wavered slightly.

"You think I'm crazy?" Roy chuckled darkly in defeat.

"Not at all, sir. After battling Homunculi, souls bound to armour and…" Her tone softened ever so slightly. "and seeing a doctor return sight to a blind man, my mind has been opened to what's possible. But…" Her voice became candid and almost scared. "could there really be more flame alchemists out there?"

"There's only one way to find out." He said resolutely. "We have to revisit the original flame alchemist."

"But, sir… How do you plan on—?"

"We need to see if he left any other traces of his research behind." He walked over to a file cabinet, opened a drawer and flipped through the papers.

"What are you suggesting?" She followed him with apprehensive eyes as he pulled two blank forms out of the drawer before closing it.

"I think we're overdue for a trip to the countryside."

"VOTE FOR MUSTANG! VOTE FOR MUSTANG!"

What appeared to be a campaign float barged its way into Mustang's office. Falman, Breda, and Fuery all beamed in their ridiculous 'vote for Mustang' hats and tacky, oversized 'Mustang for Fuhrer' buttons, waving Amestrian flags with Mustang's face presented proudly in the center. The three soldiers radiated excitement as they sported their new gear.

"Whaddaya think General?" Fuery proudly struck a manly pose. "Doesn't it just scream 'WINNER'?"

"How about this for a platform?" Falman asserted. "_This Mustang won't be broken!_"

"Ooh, that's good Captain!" Breda praised.

"What the hell is going on here?" Mustang asked, annoyed.

"We're campaigning!" Fuery cheerfully answered.

"For _what?_ There isn't even an election! It's a _se_lection."

"Still, with Parliament voting on the next fuhrer, it's the closest we've had to an election in forever!" Falman raved. "And our General is going to win!" The three soldiers waved their flags with pride, wide grins plastering their elated faces.

Roy took in the sight of his soldiers. He glanced sideways at Riza, who was just as incredulous as he was. He turned his attention back to his men.

"Say..." He inspected their gear more closely. They could barely contain their excitement. "This is some fine craftsmanship. Where did you get all of this?"

The three men shared amused glances and giggled into their hands. Roy's demeanor remained unchanged. "Well?" He insisted.

"Oh... Just a little place..." Breda began. "called Havoc General Store." This sent them into another fit of poorly hidden giggling.

Mustang slowly turned away from them. "I see..." With his back still turned, Roy snapped his fingers, burning up the flags in a flash, leaving nothing but short, scorched sticks in the hands of the soldiers. Their laughter stopped.

Roy chuckled to himself. He walked back to the front of his desk and got to work filling out the leave forms for Riza and himself.

"You want some buttons, Hawkeye?" Falman presented a bag of the tacky buttons, yet to be discouraged. "Show your support for ol' Roy, here?"

"Doing my duty to the General shows my support far more clearly than any button will." She replied stoically.

He lowered the bag. "Yeah... I guess you're right..." He slowly reached behind his back. "Buuuut..." Flinging his hands in front of him, he yielded several of the Mustang flags in each hand. "NOTHING IS CLEARER THAN A FLAG!"

"Ugghhh!" Roy slammed his fists on his desk then turned to face them. "I thought I burned those up!"

They all stared silently back at him. "We had more..." Fuery said weakly.

"Well I don't want to _see_ any more of them! And take off those stupid hats and buttons! You're disrespecting the uniform!"

"Eh. It's just a stupid uniform." They all turned to see who had spoken, but most knew without looking who it was by the distinct, familiar voice. Leaning casually in the doorway was the full-grown figure of the one and only Edward Elric. "I never bothered with that thing anyway."

"ED!" They exclaimed, rushing to greet him. Hawkeye smiled at him from afar and Mustang remained at his desk, although he couldn't help but feel his mood lighten.

"Fullmetal." He greeted casually.

"I'm not Fullmetal anymore, remember?" Ed replied.

"Sorry." He said smugly. "Old habits."

"So what's all this?" Ed asked in reference to all the campaign decor, making his way further into the office. "We're not democratic yet, are we Colonel?"

"It's _General_. And no."

"Sorry." He mocked. "Old habits."

"So." Riza interrupted, wishing to avoid as much of their back-and-forth sass as possible. "What brings you here, Ed?"

"Well Al is on his way home, and the new railway from Xing only lets off at Central, ya know, immigration and everything, so I thought I'd meet him here and stop in for a visit."

"So Alphonse is finally through with his alkahestry research?" Mustang asked.

"No, not quite. He's only coming because… well…" A proud look overcame Ed's face. Their gazes lingered on him, his silence rousing suspense and attention that Ed could not get enough of.

"Well what?" Riza implored.

"Well…" He remained silent for just a few more seconds before deciding he was satisfied. "WINRY'S PREGNANT!" The room gasped.

"No way!" A voice behind Roy exclaimed. Putting off their initial excitement, everyone turned to see a young man sitting cross-legged on Mustang's desk. Roy jumped back from the surprise appearance.

"What the hell—?!" He released.

"_Ling?_" Ed realized aloud.

"That's right!" Ling confirmed. "Winry's pregnant! That's great—Uh... What's with them?" He pointed towards the three soldiers, all sobbing uncontrollably.

"I can't believe it!" Breda began. "Our little Edward is gonna be a dad!"

Ed sighed. "I'm _not—"_

"He's not little anymore, Lieutenant." Falman gushed. "He's all grown up."

He would never tire of hearing people calling him 'not little.' He happily ate up every bit of attention the men had to give.

"Well I guess it's official. Fullmetal is finally a man." Mustang teased, tired of seeing Ed's inflating head.

"Hey what's that supposed to mean?" Ed said, offended. "I've always—"

"I'm not sure, General." Ling added. "Edward got _one _woman pregnant _once._ My father had forty-three children with a heron of nineteen wives and several concubines. Now _that's _a man!" Mustang couldn't help but laugh at Ed's expense.

Ed growled. "Oh yeah, well you're the same age as I am and I don't see you with _any _wives or _any _kids so you have no right to undermine my manliness!"

Ling laughed. "Please. I don't need wives or children to prove my manliness, isn't that right, Lan Fan?"

Everyone looked confusedly from one another, leaving only silence to follow Ling's question.

"Ahem..." Ling cleared his throat. "I said... _Isn't that right, Lan Fan?_"

There was another brief pause before an unseen voice nervously answered from outside the window. "I am afraid I am unable to answer that, my lord."

Ling's jaw dropped, an amused smirk displayed on Edward's face.

"Well I'm still the Emperor! You can at least attest to that, can't you Lan Fan?"

"Of course, my lord."

"Exactly! That's more than we can say about the good General here."

Mustang immediately switched from his amused demeanor to an offended one. "When did it become my turn to get thrown under the bus?!"

Ed was loving seeing Mustang undermined. "Yeah, Colonel." Ed ignored Mustang's 'It's _General!_" and continued on. "You're not ruler of anything and last I checked you didn't have a wife. However..." He shifted his eyes towards Hawkeye.

Mustang growled. "Don't you dare, Fullmetal!"

Ed shifted his gaze back to Mustang. "I'm just sayin', if you could keep a woman like _that _satisfied, even Ling's father would be unworthy."

"I'M SURE SHE'D BE MORE THAN SATISFIED WITH ME, FULLMETAL, WHICH IS MORE THAN I CAN SAY ABOUT YOU OR THIS PUNK EMPEROR!"

"Heey!" Said a hurt Ling. The sound of a small growl could be heard from the window.

"General." Riza addressed in an attempt to pull Roy's head out of the pointless argument. His soldiers looked at him, unsure who he was talking about as they knew of no woman who had ever rejected him.

Roy was suddenly aware of his outburst. Frustrated with himself, he put up a professional, collected front. "Won't Alphonse be arriving soon?"

Ed sighed. "Yeah, I guess I'd better get going, hadn't I?" Alphonse didn't arrive until that afternoon, but he knew he wasn't too welcome there anymore, nor did he feel like staying. Damn Mustang always had to ruin everything.

"That would be best." Roy agreed. "Lieutenant Hawkeye, perhaps you could show our guest out."

"Yes, sir."

"Yeah, I should probably get going too." Ling added, hopping down from Mustang's desk to follow Edward and Riza. Lan Fan jumped in through the window, dutifully following him out.

"Well, I'll see you later _General_." He sneered at Mustang. "Goodbye, everyone." Ed said as Hawkeye led him and the Xingese visitors out of the room.

"So what brings the Emperor of Xing to Central unannounced?" Riza asked as they set off down the hallway, tactfully avoiding the testosterone-fueled spat that just went down.

"Well I felt that this was a good time to visit! I heard a new Fuhrer was going to be selected and a good word from a new ally can't hinder the General. I don't like to make a big fuss with grand arrivals. The only escort I need to guarantee my complete safety is Lan Fan here! I trust her with my life."

"Yep. Ling may be an emperor but on the inside he's still just a squinty-eyed weirdo." Ed jested.

"Aww!" A hurt Ling whimpered.

"Oh sorry. I meant on the _outside._"

A black blur swept across the ground in front of the group and Edward tripped over something and fell to the floor. He cursed and looked back to see Lan Fan crouched on the ground—a leg outstretched where Edward's path was—giving him a menacing look.

"See what I mean, Lieutenant?" Ling said. "With my life!"

They walked a few more feet and reached the exit. Riza held the door open for the visitors. "It was great to see you again, Ed. And congratulations."

"Thanks, Lieutenant."

"Come back and see us soon!"

"Will do!"

With a smile, Riza entered the building again.

"We'll be seeing them again soon, alright." Ling said deviously.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ed asked.

* * *

"Alphonse, you have to relax!" May pressed. "Ling isn't here!"

"I know, but…" Alphonse's hand shook inside of May's gentle grasp. "If we _are _found out… I mean, you're a Princess! And I'm just—"

"Just? You're Alphonse Elric, one of the greatest alchemists alive!" Her tone sweetened. "Not to mention the sweetest, kindest, most selfless person I know." Alphonse blushed, his heart quickening and his hand becoming more comfortable in May's. "You were even immortal! You're the only person that shares that with him! And I may be a princess, but when your clan is ranked as low as mine is, that doesn't count for much."

"Yeah I guess you're-" Alphonse's eyes widened as a realization flashed through his head. _What if Ling only liked me because of my immortality? Now that I'm in my human body he probably thinks I'm just... _Al's heart shattered. _AVERAGE!_

His mind refocused long enough to notice she had finished speaking. "Huh?"

"I said what's the problem?"

He inhaled nervously. "I just don't see how Ling could be okay with this—"

"You're his friend, Alphonse! That _has_ to count for something! Besides, if Xing needs to marry anyone off for political gains, there are forty of us! They'll work something out." She cupped his face in her hand and lifted his gaze to meet hers. Alphonse couldn't help but feel comforted by her gentle eyes and reassuring smile. Not only were they genuine and trustworthy, but so _beautiful_ that it almost hurt.

"Okay." He smiled, ignoring all self-consciousness and shifting himself so he could sit even closer, wrapping his arm around her. His heart quickened as she snuggled up to him as well. Shao-Mei jumped down from May's shoulder and settled down in both of their laps. Alphonse laughed lightly and pet her head. They had found themselves in this position many times in private in Xing, but with May's assurance that there was nothing to fear, they allowed themselves the intimate moment knowing no one around them would mind and stayed that way for the rest of the ride.

* * *

"So you found a couple leave forms on Mustang's desk, that doesn't mean anything." Ed dismissed Ling's accusations. They had just gotten out of a short cab ride from Central Command where Ling started pestering Ed with his ridiculous theories that lasted until their coming to the station.

"They were the only two forms, and they're heading to Gejba! Who's even heard of that place?"

"Says the guy from Xing."

"So you _have _heard of it?"

"Well no but… What's your point?"

"My point is that they can't go anywhere they can be _seen."_

"So what? Mustang and Hawkeye would take leave all the time together to hide their secret missions from the military—"

"EXACTLY! There's not some Homunculi-controlled military to hide from now, is there? Just a regular old military with a no-fraternizing policy."

Ed began to see his point. "Well… we don't _know_ that _nothing_ is going on in the military…"

Ling gave him an unamused look.

"Okay! So there's _probably_ nothing like that going on the military but…" Ed tried to think of more excuses on Mustang's behalf (something he never thought he'd be doing). "Hey, wait a minute, why do you care so much?"

"Because I'm the Emperor! I have access to any information I want!" But Ling wasn't proudly declaring his position, it sounded like he was whining. "I miss having to sneak around for top secret information! It's just so boring when everyone _tells_ it to you."

"Sheesh, you're _given_ all your information and you still need more even if it's as stupid as Hawkeye and Mustang shacking up?" Ed pointed at Ling's chest. "You sure Greed isn't still in there somewhere?"

"I can assure you he's not. But that doesn't mean he didn't rub off on me! But I'm curious, Edward. Why _don't_ you care about catching them in the act?"

"Yuck, why would I!? I don't wanna see the stupid Colonel like _that!_"

Ling dropped his voice lower. "Not even for… _blackmail?_"

Ed stopped walking and glanced sideways at Ling. "Go on."

"With the selection coming up and everything, I'll bet the General would be willing to do _anything_ to keep his secret hidden."

Visions of Mustang doing Ed's chores materialized in a cloud over his head.

"_You call this a roof repair?!" Ed scorned._

"_Please, I did the best I could!" Mustang begged from his knees._

"_I could transmute something better than this and I can't even use alchemy anymore!" _

_Ed slammed through the patch-job with his automail leg. Mustang bawled uncontrollably. "Do it again!"_

"_Y-y-yes sir!" He said through his sobs._

"_Hey, Roy! Hurry up with that salmon risotto!"_

"_Oh, Ed! This is so romantic!" Winry gushed at his side, wineglass in hand._

"_Coming, Sir! An apron-clad Roy fumbled quickly into the room holding two dinners on silver platters. "Here you are, sir! More champagn—?"_

"_GET OUTTA HERE! YOU'RE RUINING THE EVENING!"_

_Mustang lept and ran out of the room, screaming "yes, sir!" as he fled._

_Ed wore a triumphant smile and Winry swooned into him. "Oh, Edward!"_

"Hmm…" Ed pondered. "It would certainly smack that cocky grin off his stupid face…" His thoughts returned to reality. "But Winry wouldn't take too well to blackmailing the future Fuhrer into being my personal slave. Besides, she can cook a thousand times better than the Colonel."

"PLEASE EDWARD!?" Ling was on his knees in front of Edward, hands together and sobbing. "I NEED THIS, PLEASE! FOR OLD TIME'S SAKE!"

Shocked by the sudden grovelling from the Emperor, Ed looked around self-consciously to see people giving them strange looks. Lan Fan stood silently, her presence nearly forgotten by Ed.

"Lan Fan?" He asked quietly. "You wanna try and talk him out of it?"

"I will follow the young Lord anywhere he chooses to go."

Ed sighed, his resolve crumbled. "A pregnant wife at home and I'm out stalking the stupid Colonel with this Xingese—"

"OH THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!" Ling hugged Edward.

"Winry's gonna kill me…"

* * *

The announcement was made that they would be arriving in Central in five minutes. It still felt strange to May to be in Amestris—especially this close to Central—without that rancid feeling of wrongness seeping through the soil. The memory of it usually made her shudder, but with a now peaceful country and Alphonse right next to her, she had a feeling that this visit to Amestris would be nothing but bliss. They watched the outside world slow down to a stop as they arrived at the station. Alphonse and May tore themselves away from each other and gathered their few belongings, arranging their luggage so that they both still had a free hand for holding.

Al was the first to get off the train. Once he stepped onto the platform he turned to offer a hand to May as she stepped down. She took it, charmed, having no intention of letting it go once she was on the platform herself.

"Al!" He heard from somewhere close by. He scanned the station looking for Edward and found him quickly, waving from a small pod of people. Before Al and May could move to meet him, the man next to Edward turned to face them. It was Ling.

May yelped and promptly shoved Alphonse away from her, eyes wide and sweat breaking. "Emperor Ling!" She addressed with a panicked voice. Shao-Mei cowered behind a braid.

"May Chang." His voice was low and almost threatening. "Have you forgotten what I told you?" She gulped. There was no hiding her panic. She was in _so_ much trouble.

"I.. um…" Her voice quivered.

"You don't have to call me Emperor!" Ling exclaimed, his chipper demeanor returning, completely throwing her off. "That's for all our _other _brothers and sisters! To you, I'm just Ling, your big brother! And to me you're just May, my favorite little sister!" With that, he pulled her into a tight, happy hug. She forced an unconvincing and nervous laugh, even though she was nowhere close to recovering from the scare. Luckily, Ling didn't seem to notice. Her uncomfortable eyes met Alphonse, dreading the damage she had done. He was gaping at her with betrayed eyes, heart crushed and confidence shattered.

Ling broke away from May and turned to Alphonse, extending his hand and a friendly greeting. Still shocked, he received Ling's welcome. Ling then excused himself to go look at departure times.

"Woah, Al, you look shaken up." Ed said lightly but with concern. "What's wrong?"

Al continued to stare painfully at May, her gaze filled with regret and apology. But still, he was crushed. After all that time she spent trying to convince him they had nothing to worry about, and after he _finally_ started to believe it, she reacted like _that_ at the first sight of Ling. He was right. The insecurities that he had harboured since the moment he realized his feelings for her had all just been proven _right._ She was _ashamed _of him.

"It's nothing." He said, trying to sound cold.

"Alright…" Ed knew his brother was acting strange, but he also sensed that he didn't want to get into it. "Hey, May."

"Hello, Edward." May tried her best to sound polite and collected.

"Let's go home, Brother." Al said pleadingly.

"Well...actually…" Ed hated to have to inconvenience his brother when something was so obviously upsetting him, but he had already agreed…

Al knew immediately that he was being dragged into something. "What?" He said dreadfully.

"We're not going home _just _yet-"

"_Everyone hide!" _Ling ran past them waving his arms in the air. Befuddled, they all followed him as he turned a corner and flattened himself against a wall.

"What the hell, Ling!" Ed yelled.

"_Shhhh!" _Ling insisted, then dropped his voice to a whisper. "General Mustang and the Lieutenant are _here! _I was looking at the departure times and the train to Gejba leaves in ten minutes!"

"_What!_" Ed whisper-shouted. "How are we gonna get on without them seeing us!?"

Ling watched sneakily from the corner, planning. "I think I have an idea."

* * *

"Dammit, Ling." Ed groaned, trying to arrange himself comfortably on top of one of the many large crates in the bumpy luggage car. "That's the last time I let you handle _anything._"

"It's not so bad!" Ling replied, comfortably laying on a bed made of all the soft bags in the car, sticking everyone else with stiff and awkwardly-shaped chests in the dark luggage car. His stomach growled. "Uh oh… I supposed we can't access the dining car from here, can we?"

"Didn't you eat when we were at the station?"

"Of course I did! But that was just a snack."

"_What? _You ordered three entrees!"

"Your Amestrian portion sizes aren't suitable to a Xingese diet!"

"Ugh, then take a _nap_ or something!"

May _desperately _wanted to talk to Alphonse. She was dying to apologize to him for how she acted, but with everyone else in such close proximity, there would be no hiding her words from them. All she could do was stare at him sulk through the dim light of the car. She didn't want him to be upset with her. She _loved _him! It was just a mistake, couldn't he see that? She felt so frustrated, so guilty, but mostly she just felt sorry. She couldn't stand seeing him mad.

Al wasn't mad. He was hurt. He could feel her staring at him, knowing the gaze was full of pain of remorse, but he couldn't meet it. It didn't matter how sorry she was. He _knew _she was sorry. But she was ashamed of him. He couldn't help that and neither could she. It was harsh, but it was the truth. It didn't matter that she liked him if she was ashamed of him. Nothing real could ever come out of that. He had been watching Ed and Winry all his life. He wanted something deep and real like they had. He thought he had found that with May. They had been through so much together and they were both incredibly intelligent and skilled in their own fields of alchemy. Most importantly, they cared deeply for each other. He thought he had finally found _his _Winry, who he could settle down with, who could challenge him, who could _love _him. But there could be no love where there was shame. He sighed. _This is going to be a long train ride._

_Could this train go any slower? _Edward thought, frustrated. He had called Winry before Alphonse arrived and told her he would be coming home the next day instead of tonight. _It's just one more day. _She had said. _It's really not that big of a deal. Just make sure everyone stops by to visit when you're done with… whatever it is you're doing. _She reacted a lot more coolly to the news than he had expected. It upset _him _to be torn away from his pregnant wife for a whole extra day, so it should've upset her, too, right? But she had the baby to keep her company, and he had to miss both her _and _the baby. It's not like he spent half his life researching and his time with them was precious or anything. _Dammit, Ling. _Ed cursed.

_Dammit, Al. _Al sulked.

_Dammit, May. _May accused.

* * *

"You've been rather silent." Roy said beside Riza. She was staring out the window just as she had been for most of the ride. The sun had almost set over the increasingly familiar countryside and she knew it would be completely dark when they arrived shortly in Gejba.

"I could say the same thing about you, sir." She replied without turning to him. He was right. She hadn't said much. It had been years since she returned to Gejba, never very fond of the place. Flat, tiresome, and ultimately unimportant, she knew this place wasn't home. Home was wherever she needed to go to actively fight for what's good and what's just. Back then, her answer had been joining the military, but the war in Ishval just wound up leaving her with more than a lifetime's worth of wrongdoings to make up for. She didn't _deserve_ to have a home anymore. So she focused on protecting the General and his efforts to change Amestris and restore Ishval. She focused on protecting her father's deadly secrets. She focused on protecting the ability of others to have a home, forfeiting her own ability to do so. It had never occurred to her that by not returning here, she could have failed them all. Everything having to do with flame alchemy was a _part_ of her, or so she thought. The idea that her assumptions, her _shortcoming,_ could result in more death was unbearably heavy on her conscience.

"I hope that you're right, Lieutenant." He said, pulling her unexpectedly out of her thoughts. This time, she looked at him.

"What?"

"I hope you're right… That I'm just being crazy. It would be a far better outcome than the alternative."

"I don't think you're crazy, sir." She said. "I'm actually terrified that you're right. I _hope _you _are_ crazy… but I don't think you are."

He sighed wearily and leaned forward on his elbows, resting his forehead in his hands. "That makes two of us_._"

"Try to rest a bit." She said. "We'll need to work quickly once we get there."

"Are you going to rest?" He lightly called her out on her pretense. They were both too anxious to fall asleep.

She supposed the suggestion was foolish, but he really did need it. He hadn't been sleeping at all lately and they would need to be energized to do what they had to do before returning to Central. "I'm going to try."

He _was _exhausted. Giving in, he laid his head back and closed his eyes, spending several minutes focusing on the consistent rhythm of the train on the tracks…

_He was in the fierce blaze again. It didn't make sense. He was just on the train next to Riza and now he was here, in this hell. He desperately wanted to leave. The men's faces were so sinister and full of hatred. He had seen the same look on the face of the Crimson Alchemist, on the faces of Envy and Lust...they enjoyed killing. It made him sick._

_The dragon made its grand and terrifying entrance, the same peaceful old man on its back. But before he spoke the same confusing words he always spoke, another voice broke in._

"_General!"_

_He turned, horrified. It was Riza. She was being dragged into the fire by the flame alchemists._

"_Lieutenant!" He jumped into the flames after her._

"_General!"_

"General!"

Roy woke up, drenched in sweat, again. Riza had been shaking him, her eyes wide with worry.

"That was it, wasn't it?" She inquired. "The nightmare?"

He sighed and wiped the sweat off his face. "Yes."

She searched his face, seeing the hints of fear underneath his self-annoyance. Unsure how to help him, she offered the only condolence she could manage. "We'll be there soon, sir."

And they were. Before long, they had reached the small, run-down station in Gejba. There was a car arranged to pick them up upon their arrival, which they were able to get to quickly being as they brought little luggage with them. It started down the dusty road, and Roy and Riza remained silent for the drive, enraptured in their thoughts and unaware of their peers sneakily following their trail.

Three miles later, Edward could see the car park in front of a humble, two-story house. "Get down!" He whispered breathlessly, making his way into a dark, grassy field beside the road where he lay down flat to camouflage his appearance.

"Gladly!" Ling panted. They all followed suit and flattened themselves onto the ground, thankful for the rest. Hitching for breath, they watched Mustang and Hawkeye get out of the car and enter the house.

"This—is it! It's happening!" Ling whispered between breaths.

"Ugh, re_lax._" Ed whispered annoyedly. "This doesn't—mean anything."

One after the other, each window shone with the light from within each room.

"Why would they need all the lights?" Al asked.

"Perhaps they're looking for something." Lan Fan suggested.

"See?" Ed said. "They're not here to shack up! They're obviously here on important…" Mustang appeared in one of the windows and closed its curtains, followed by the next window, and the next, until they were all closed. "...business…"

"I knew it!" Ling whispered in victory. "C'mon! Now they can't see us! Let's get closer!"

"Ugh. Just one more minute."

* * *

Riza was looking through her father's untouched room while Roy searched their familiar collection of books for some sort of code. It was the same as it always looked, just dustier. She wasn't in it often growing up, except when her father would go away on research expeditions. At age ten, he had decided she was old enough to stay on her own and would leave her to tend to the house and herself for weeks on end. During those weeks, she would sleep in her father's bed. Not because she missed him—they were never close—but because she felt safer in his room. In her own room, she was just a child whose parents weren't there to protect her, but in his room, she was the adult grown up enough to live on her own with no fear. She would lay there awake in the darkness tapping on the wall and headboard to create a calming, percussive melody.

Now, she nostalgically started to create another. First she rapped the headboard with her knuckle which produced the highest pitch, then moved up to the wall, where a somewhat lower pitch sounded. Slightly to the left, the pitch became even lower, and further left, the pitch was dramatically lower. It resonated, almost echoed. She only then realized that the wall shouldn't sound like that…

_It's hollow._

She frantically inspected the spot by knocking in a circular pattern, determining the hollow area was about seven inches in diameter. "General!" She shouted. Roy rushed into the room. "There's something in the wall!"

He moved towards her urgently. He clapped his hands together and placed them on the wall. A light shone and a hole opened up, revealing a small box in the secret compartment. Roy and Riza looked at each other, excited and aghast. Quickly, she pulled it out of the wall.

"The lid must have been transmuted on." She said, failing to open it. He used his alchemy to separate the two parts of the box, and threw the lid onto the bed.

They stared, dumbstruck, at the contents revealed. "What _is _this?" Roy breathed.

* * *

"Edward, you take Alphonse and May through the cellar." Ling was briefing. "Lan Fan and I will enter through an upstairs window. If they're on the main floor like I expect they'll be, then they won't notice our breaking in."

"Fine, let's just get this stupid thing over with." Ed groaned. While Ling and Lan Fan climbed, Ed worked on quietly opening the outer door to the cellar. It was bolted and locked several times.

"They sure are protective." Al said.

"Could you transmute your way in?" Ed suggested.

"Yeah." Al clapped and placed his hands on the doors, flashing a blue light. But nothing happened. "Huh? It's wooden, right?"

"That's weird. I guess whoever did it expected an alchemist. It must've been transformed to some other form of matter."

"Here, let me try." May said. She stuck her kunai knives in the door in a circle, which then glowed bright blue. A hole appeared in the door. "He may have expected an alchemist, but he wasn't expecting an Alkahestrist!" She said proudly before crawling through, followed by the two brothers.

* * *

Roy and Riza picked the strange object out of the box. It looked like a bracelet, but was much too small to fit on a wrist. It was made of red metal and fashioned to resemble the silhouette of a flame. Next to it was a very unusual, very beautiful gold ring with a raw cut of a dark, shining stone fashioned into the center.

"Obsidian." Roy said without thinking.

"What?" Riza asked.

Roy caught that he had spoken. "Oh, the ring. It's obsidian, a rock formed from the rapid cooling of lava."

She nodded in acknowledgement and removed the last item out of the bottom of the box, a folded piece of parchment. Riza carefully unfolded it to reveal and ink sketch of a young man with his long hair in a bun, the rest of the page covered in some unknown characters. They were Eastern in nature—perhaps Xingese?—but neither of them could read it.

"Do you think it says something about flame alchemy?" Riza asked.

"I'm not sure, I can't read it." Roy said, still incredulous "But with the flame shaped metal and the Obsidian ring, I don't doubt that it has something to do with fire." There was an eerie ambiance in the air at the mysterious discovery. They were silent as they restudied every bit of the objects.

* * *

The cellar was dark and cramped.

"I can't see anything." Al said.

Ed had already started working his way through the variety of shelves and bureaus that littered the basement. His curiosity was piqued by the anti-alchemist door. "Do you think there's some secret down here?"

"Yes, I think so." May replied, surprising Ed. He didn't think his suspicions would be taken seriously. "I'm getting a very strange feeling from this place. There's a sort of chi running through here, but I don't know what."

"Strange feeling?" Al replied, putting his new alkahestry training to use. "I think… I think I feel it too."

"It just feels… different. It's not like the awful feeling I got from the Homunculi, but it's certainly odd."

"Yeah! It doesn't feel _wrong_, it just doesn't feel _right._"

Ed had forgotten why they were there in the first place, something stupid about the Colonel? Anyway, he was only interested in finding whatever it was that was down there. Eyes wide and perceptive, he looked for anything that seemed abnormal, yet failed to notice the metal bucket that was sitting right in his path.

A loud clang echoed through the basement.

"Aw crap."

"Brother!" Al whisper-shouted. "What did you _do?"_

They heard movement upstairs.

"Dammit, just…" Ed tried to figure out what to do. "Just..._hide!"_

They scattered in various directions, and Ed found a stone workbench pressed up against a damp wall. _That bastard's flames can't hurt me here! _He thought, climbing underneath the fireproof shelter and listening for Mustang's inevitable entrance.

Roy's footsteps sounded as he began his descent down the stairs, followed closely by his Lieutenant. Unable to see in the darkness before him, he snapped his fingers, creating a small, flickering flame to illuminate the room.

"Who's there?" His intimidating voice boomed through the basement. He couldn't see anyone, but there were a lot of hiding places in the dark cellar. He warily stepped onto the basement floor, every sense on high alert. "You can't hide from me." He threatened. He heard something scatter to his left and turned briskly around to face it. "_Show yourself!_"

Mustang waited for the burglar to come into the open, but there was nothing but stillness. "I'm warning you." His voice was menacing. "One...two…"

He snapped his fingers and sent fire shooting down the wall.

A loud curse pierced through the heated room. "_JESUS_! YOU _MANIAC! _YOU ALMOST KILLED ME!"

Roy's eyes widened as he recognized the voice. "_FULLMETAL_?!"

Ed burst out from his hiding place angrily.

"What the _hell_ are you doing here?!" Mustang demanded.

"Well..." Ed stumbled. "I could ask you the same thing!"

"_TELL ME WHY YOU'RE HERE!"_

"Wait! General Mustang!" Roy turned to see Alphonse looking at him with pleading eyes.

"_Alphonse?_" He couldn't believe Al was there. "I'd expect this kind of inexcusable behavior from your brother, but never from _you._"

"HEY DON'T TALK ABOUT ME LIKE I'M A CHILD!" Ed shouted, ignored by Mustang.

"Please, General, it's not what it looks like." Al beseeched. "We didn't even want to be here! We're sorry!"

"Excuse me, General." May appeared from her hiding spot behind a large box. "Sorry for the intrusion, but do you by any chance know what's down here? There's a strange sort of chi—"

"Just how many of you _are_ there down here?"

"Just Edward, Alphonse, Shao-Mei and myself!" The little panda jumped off of May's shoulder and bounced over to Mustang, sniffing his leg curiously.

He just stared, floored by the blasé behavior of the young girl.

"There's a strange sort of chi?" Hawkeye asked. "What do you mean?"

"There is something odd in this house but I don't know what it is." May replied.

"General…" She said heavily. He met her coercive eyes that conveyed exactly what she was thinking. He was thinking it too. He nodded weightily.

"May, come with us." He said. "There's something we need to show you."

"Would it be alright if I came too?" Alphonse said.

"Of course." Riza replied.

Ed also followed them up the stairs and into hall, feeling no need to ask permission when there were so many more important things to ask.

"What was with that door, anyway?" He asked Mustang. "Why couldn't we transmute it?"

"Perhaps because the OWNER OF THIS HOUSE DIDN'T WANT A BRAT LIKE YOU BREAKING IN!"

"OH YEAH THEN WHAT ARE _YOU _DOING HERE?!"

Their argument stopped them in front of the kitchen, where they saw a contrite Ling and Lan Fan ogling back at them, faces stuffed with the cupboard's non perishables.

"THEY'RE HERE TOO!?" Mustang shouted.

Ling and Ed fought to defend themselves from Mustang's berating accusations while Lan Fan continued eating and Riza took May and Al into her father's room. She showed them the spot on the wall where the objects were hidden, and Al transmuted both the wall and the box open so they could inspect whatever it was the lieutenant wanted them to see.

"Can you read this?" Riza showed May the parchment.

After studying it for a moment, May shook her head. "That isn't Xingese. I don't know what it is." She was more interested in studying the red metal and the obsidian ring. "These certainly have the same feeling as before, but it's very weak. This couldn't have been the source of such a powerful feeling."

"So this isn't it?"

May shook her head. "No. There's something else here."

Lamps were placed all around the cellar as everyone looked around for the source of the strange chi. Under the lights, it was made obvious just how much junk there was crammed into the basement. Shelves, racks, chests; half covered in sheets and all packed with stuff.

"Jeez, would ya look at all this junk?" Ed said. "It's gonna take forever to find whatever's in here."

"Edward." Ling called. He was standing before the largest conglomeration of random objects, piled and tightly packed under the stairs and extending into the open floor.

"Huh?" Ed joined him. "What is it?"

"I feel it. It's over here somewhere."

"In all _this?_"

He nodded.

Ed sighed. "Well I guess we better start looking."

They climbed atop the pile and inspected every object they encountered, throwing aside whatever they confirmed worthless. The others noticed, May and Al also picking up on the sensation the corner radiated, and began helping them. Quite some time passed, and eventually they buried their way down to the base layer of large, tightly packed commodities. After looking through the contents of a large trunk, Ed began pushing it aside to get to the crate behind it when he saw etchings on the floor. "Huh?" He crouched and studied the etchings, a small portion of a much larger illustration. He pushed the trunk the rest of the way to get a better look when he was hit with a heart-sinking realization.

He whispered "It's a _transmutation circle._" Taking a second to affirm his discovery, he shouted "It's a transmutation circle!"

"What? _Where?" _Mustang rushed to join him, followed by Alphonse.

The three of them took a moment to inspect Ed's discovery. "Move _everything!_" Mustang commanded. "We need to see the entire circle!"

A chorus of different agreements replied and got to work removing each and every object from the inner wall to the edge of the presumably large circle. After the adrenaline-fueled rush to empty the area was completed, the full circle was finally revealed.

"What is this?" Mustang asked. "Is this a—"

"Human transmutation circle?" Ed finished his question. "It looks _similar_ but…"

"Brother, look at this!" Al said, running into the circle to get a closer look at a strange symbol. "I've never seen this before. What could it be?"

"Al, be careful!" Ed warned. "If you accidentally activate it, you could get yourself killed!"

"I know, Brother. I will. But look!" Ed followed him into the circle. The symbol was an odd connection of lines wound in rectangular patterns.

"This one looks like a flower!" May, who had joined them in the circle, exclaimed. "Is that an alchemical symbol?"

Ed turned to look at it. "I don't know… I've never seen that before either."

"This looks like a chimera!" Lan Fan said. "Maybe a... lizard cat?"

"Edward…" Ling said.

"One question at a time!" Ed shouted, overwhelmed.

"I recognize this one. From the time we were swallowed by Gluttony." A familiar symbol? Ed joined Ling in studying it, knowing he could at least try to make sense of _part_ of the circle. "Didn't you say it was the alchemical symbol for God?"

"Yeah." Ed said, studying it closely. "And look at this!" He noticed a symbol beside it that resembled a backwards E with a diagonal slash through it. "It translates to 'does not exist'."

"God does not exist?" Ling asked.

"God as in Truth?" Alphonse asked. "But that doesn't make sense…"

Mustang heard none of what they said. He only stared, feeling an intense pull towards the circle. It was like he was in a trance. He could focus on nothing but the circle, the urge to activate it was overpowering. _I don't understand the circle. Activating it would only result in disaster._

"_But you do understand it."_

_That voice. Where have I heard it?_

"_It is your destiny. Open the portal."_

The words reverberated through his head. They became the only words he could understand and the circle became the only thing he could see.

"General, what is it?" Riza kept trying to get his attention. "Are you alright? _General_?" He was frightening her. He was unresponsive, his expression heavy but somewhere else. What was happening to him? Slowly, he began to kneel. "General, _what are you doing?!_"

Her cries called everyone's attention to Mustang kneeling in front of the circle. He moved his hands towards the edge of array.

"NOOOOO!" Ed screamed as he jumped towards the General in vain. Mustang's hands had made contact with the outer edge of the etchings, and the circle shone a blinding white-blue light. Hundreds of sadistic, shadowy limbs snaked up and began pulling them apart piece by piece. "YOU _BASTAAAAAAAAARD!"_


End file.
